Are You Worthy to be Called "Hero" by Your Children?

You may recall a time when you were a child when someone asked you about your "hero." Or, recently, someone may have asked you who you admired most when you were growing up. I have asked some form of this question to groups on multiple occasions (mostly as an icebreaker in Bible studies). Some of the more common answers are "my preacher/youth minister" "my grandfather/mother" and some times I'd get some weird ones, like "the guy who always handed out candy at church." Recently, I was told about a guy who handed out $100 bills to young couples so they could go out on dates. However, no doubt, in every group, someone will mention their mother and/or father. What is interesting to me though is that when these people say "my mom" or "my dad," they do so in a way where their demeanor communicates "sorry, this is all I have...." Its almost as if they are disappointed they didn't have a more intriguing answer to the question. My response is "Great!" I love to hear stories about good habits that people observed from their parents growing up. For instance, "I will always remember my dad reading his Bible every night in bed before he went to sleep" or "My mom gets up at 5:30 every morning and prays for about an hour before starting her day."

Someone recently asked me "Should every parent be their child's #1 hero?"My response was "No, but every parent should be a possible hero to their children." In other words, not every person will choose their parents when asked this question, but if they were to create a short list of heroes, their parents should be on it. You know, so often we are focused on our children's behavior, but a question that we need to constantly be asking ourselves as parents is "Have I been behaving in such a way that would constitute "hero" status in my child's eyes?" Notice the italics. The emphasis is on the "child's" perspective not the "parent's" perspective. Just because we think we are doing a good job, doesn't mean our children do. Our children's perspective is many ways is more important than our perspective when it comes to how we choose to parent them.

I have a nearly 2 yr old son and a son due any day now. I pray for their well being in almost every prayer I send up. I also pray that Amanda and I will be good parents and that we will grow our kids to be wonderful Christian young men. But, I also make sure to pray for the parents of my sons' future wives (assuming they will some day desire to marry). I pray that their wives are or will be part of a healthy home and that they will be nourished physically, mentally/emotionally, and spiritually. I pray that their parents will reach "hero" status in the eyes of their children.....in the eye's of my son's future wives.

To close out this entry, I pose the question to you one more time, "Have you been behaving in such away that constitutes "hero" status?" If your answer is "no," it is never too late to change. Remember, even if your kids are grown and gone, you are still a parent. So, as long as the parent-child relationship still exists, there is still hope things can turn around. I wish you all the best in your relationships.